Vote like America’s future is on the ballot. Because it is

If this midterm election feels far more consequential than most, that’s because it is. Americans are investing, building, and creating jobs. Voters must now decide whether to elect a Congress that builds on that progress or puts more obstacles in its path. The consequences will reach far beyond the next two years. Our children and grandchildren will build their lives around the opportunities we help create, or struggle with the ones we let slip away.Voters must choose whether to give entrepreneurs more freedom to invest, compete, and grow, or give government more control over their decisions while adding to their costs. For Main Street, those choices determine whether an owner can afford to expand and hire. For working families, they help determine whether the next opportunity opens close to home or never opens at all.On Oct. 22, Eli Lilly broke ground on a $5 billion manufacturing facility in Virginia, with approximately 1,800 construction jobs and 650 permanent positions expected. ADP reported that establishments with fewer than 50 employees added 23,000 jobs in September. Construction employment across private employers of all sizes rose by 15,000. On Oct. 27, the Conference Board reported a 7.5-point increase in consumer confidence, with better assessments of current conditions and the outlook. High costs still weighed on families, and spending plans remained cautious.President Donald Trump and Congress have strengthened incentives to keep moving forward. The One Big Beautiful Bill provides a deduction for qualified tips, additional relief for eligible seniors, and permanent 100% expensing for qualifying business equipment. Eligible Americans can retain more of their earnings, and businesses have a stronger reason to invest. Protect those gains with your vote.Small business leader Hinton Howell once told me why he wanted to invest in automation and develop his employees at Hinton Lumber: “We want to create a work environment here that we can pay our people well, so they ultimately have the ability to provide more for their families.”Howell connected better equipment and stronger skills to better pay. More employers should have the chance to do the same.We have lived through midterms that shifted Washington toward more government control over how Americans work and do business. After the 2018 election, the Democratic House majority voted to raise the federal minimum wage to $15. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that a $15 minimum would raise pay for 17 million workers but leave 1.3 million fewer people employed.The same House passed the PRO Act in 2020. It would have treated more independent contractors as employees under federal labor law. Neither measure became law. Working families need businesses strong enough to sustain the opportunities politicians promise.Today’s energy shock puts further investment under pressure. The Richmond Federal Reserve’s October report described some carriers halting purchases of more fuel-efficient trucks because higher diesel bills consumed the money. The cost of operating today displaced investment in tomorrow. Those pressures should not cloud the progress achieved or weaken our determination to build on it.Elect representatives who will preserve investment incentives and make expansion possible. Owners need financing, dependable energy, and workers prepared to use new equipment. Timely permitting decisions and needed energy infrastructure help turn investment into production. Training should prepare people for available work. Communities need room to build homes their workers can afford.President Ronald Reagan’s “shining city upon a hill” joined enterprise with freedom. His farewell address envisioned a prosperous, secure country alive with commerce and creativity. Our factories, suppliers, and skilled workers also help equip our servicemen and women. America must deliver what defending its freedom requires.CODE NAME ‘ZANE,’ SECRET FLIGHTS, AND A DECOY: THE DSCC’S ALASKA SHADOW CAMPAIGNMy former boss, Newt Gingrich, taught me that elections have consequences. Our children cannot cast a ballot for the country they will inherit. We can. Give them thriving Main Streets, schools that prepare them to succeed, and opportunities worthy of their talents. They deserve leaders who can deliver, account for the costs, and explain the obligations they leave behind.I was born at 1:10 a.m. on Nov. 7, 1956, the day after Americans went to the polls. As I approach 70, I want my vote to serve people I will never meet. I want them to inherit a country where hard work opens doors and freedom gives them room to build a life of their own. That is the future I will take into the voting booth. Vote like America’s future is on the ballot. Because it is.Dan Varroney is an economic strategist, founder and CEO of Potomac Core, and author of Rethinking Economic Growth.